Oh, the Places You'll Go
by Blondie B. Happy
Summary: "I'm afraid that sometimes, you'll play lonely games too. Games you can't win, 'cause you'll play against you."—Dr. Seuss. Slightly AU. One-shot. Mother/Son Fic.


**Based upon the story, Oh, The Places You'll Go! By Dr. Seuss. I hope you enjoy! Reviews are loved!**

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"_You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go."_

_~Dr. Seuss~_

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"Mommy, will you read me a bedtime story?"

Sally was exhausted from a hard day at working at Sweets on America. She was sitting on the couch with a glass of water in hand, watching the eleven o'clock news. The circles under her eyes wouldn't go away and she was wearing long sleeves in the summertime to cover up the bruises that Gabe had left on her the night before.

Seeing her young son, standing in the doorway of the small living room made a sad smile get etched onto her face. Cautiously, she tugged her sleeve down some more as nonchalantly as possible.

His mop of black hair was as unruly as ever and his green eyes twinkled even with the lack of light. His mouth was slightly open so that she could just make out his missing front tooth. He looked wide awake and hyper. He walked over to his mother and wrapped his arms around her mid section, squeezing tightly. She gave him a hug back, kissing the top of his head.

"Percy, you should be asleep," she scolded quietly. He had to go to school in the morning. Every time she thought about him leaving period, her stomach sank. She was scared for her little boy. She had brought him into this world full of uncertainties and evil. "Why aren't you asleep?"

"I was waiting for you," he whispered, nuzzling his head into her shoulder. Sally glanced at the TV, which was talking about the crime rates of New York City, and she quickly changed it so that it was on the Simpsons. "I wanted you to come home. I missed you."

"I missed you too, sweetheart, but you know I have to work late on the weekdays. I promise this weekend I'll take you out for ice cream." If her unseemly boss ever gave her a paycheck.

"Will you read me a bedtime story?"

They didn't have many books, and Percy didn't like reading. He's dyslexic, the doctors had told her last year. She'd known he'd be since the day he was born, even before that, when she was pregnant. Back when his true father was still with her, back when a guy named Gabe was nowhere in their lives.

"You need to go to sleep," she told him, brushing back his hair.

"Please?" he begged loudly, and she shushed him in fear that her husband would wake up from his hangover and come out to see them.

"Okay, fine, but only half of once. Then you have to promise me that you'll go to sleep." She stuck up her pinky finger and gazed down at him.

"I promise!" He wrapped his pinky around hers and the deal was done. She clicked off the TV and gulped down the last of her water as she followed Percy's guiding hand into his bedroom.

A piece of her broke every time she stepped foot in this place. Beer cans and cigarette butts littered the ground, with broken pieces of glass stuck into the carpet. The faint stench of alcohol hung in the air. This was not the place for someone to raise a child. Every day when she left for work, she was scared that Gabe was going to take his anger out on Percy rather than her.

Percy jumped into his bed and pulled the covers up over himself. "Will you read 'Oh, The Places You'll Go!'?" he asked.

He hadn't heard that story in years. She nodded her head silently and walked over to the piles of magazines and newspapers and picked up the one book that was hidden all the way at the bottom. It was a bent-up paper back with soggy pages that distorted some of the words, but she could still see the cover which said, "Oh, the Place You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss.

She sat down on the edge of his bed and clicked on the small lamp so that she could read better. "Remember, only half," she said.

He nodded quickly and snuggled farther into his sheets.

Sally flipped to a random page towards the end of the book, because she was tired and wanted to go to sleep and have dreams of her and her son being far away from this prison. Percy didn't notice, even though he was a very observant kid. Sally took a deep breath, and with the voice only a loving mother could produce, she began to read.

"_Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!  
There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.  
And the magical things you can do with that ball  
will make you the winning-est winner of all.  
Fame! You'll be famous as famous can be,  
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV."_

She turned the book to show him the picture. His eyes got really big as he smiled. She smiled back at him. Her son was going to go on to do great things, she knew that. After all, he was a demigod. He was a son of Poseidon, the god she had fallen in love with years ago on the beach. He'd be famous in his own world that she would not be a part of.

"_Except when they don't.  
Because, sometimes, they won't."_

That was true too. Jealousy was real, and so were the bad people like Gabe that Sally was doing her best to protect him from. She wasn't strong or powerful. She could stop everything, but she could try to prevent it for as long as possible.

"_I'm afraid that sometimes  
you'll play lonely games too.  
Games you can't win  
'cause you'll play against you."_

Sally showed Percy the picture again before turning the page, but the lines were still in her head.

_You'll play against you._

She had a feeling of what that meant, but she didn't want to think too much on the subject. This was just a kids book after all, the last book written by Seuss before his death.

"_All Alone!  
Whether you like it or not,  
Alone will be something  
you'll be quite a lot."_

Quite frequently, Sally felt as if she were alone with all of the pain she had to suffer, but she had Percy, and she would do anything for her son. She loved him more than life. All she wanted to do was protect him and give him a normal life.

She had named him Perseus because Perseus was one of the only heroes in mythological times that'd had a happy ending with Andromeda. She wanted her son to have a happy ending too with whomever he loved. She didn't care what happened to herself so long as he ended up okay, because then she'd know she'd done her job as a mother.

"Mommy, will you keep going?" Percy asked. She hadn't realized she'd stopped reading.

"Of course, sweetheart."

"_And when you're alone, there's a very good chance  
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.  
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,  
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on."_

She hadn't remembered this book being so morbid.

She turned the book so that he could see the picture. He yawned loudly, which meant he was getting tired. She flipped the page and continued on with the children's book.

"_But on you will go  
though the weather be foul  
On you will go  
though your enemies prowl  
On you will go  
though the Hakken-Kraks howl  
Onward up many  
a frightening creek,  
though your arms may get sore  
and your sneakers may leak."_

The picture on this page had the lone little boy in a small boat, rowing through the sea full of monsters. She was struck with the image of Percy in that boat instead, and it sent shivers down her spine.

The monsters in the waters reminded her of Scylla and Charybdis from mythology, but she dismissed the thought quickly. No. Percy would never have to battle something like that in his lifetime. But then again, in his world, anything would be possible.

"_On and on you will hike  
and I know you'll hike far  
and face up to your problems  
whatever they are."_

The kid in this story was on a quest just as Percy would have to go on someday.

All Sally wanted to do was protect Percy from everything, but she knew she wouldn't be able to do that.

"_You'll get mixed up, of course,  
as you already know.  
You'll get mixed up  
with many strange birds as you go.  
So be sure when you step.  
Step with care and great tact  
and remember that Life's  
a Great Balancing Act.  
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.  
And never mix up your right foot with your left."_

"Mommy, what happened to your arm?" Percy suddenly asked, reaching with his small hand toward his mother.

She froze. Her sleeve had risen up, showing the black and blue bruises staining her skin. She gulped and Percy continued to stare at her, a mixture of horror and fascination in his gaze.

"Nothing," she told him and he yawned again. Percy dismissed it with his young, naïve innocence. He didn't understand what abuse was, and she hope that he would never have to.

"_And will you succeed?  
Yes! You will, indeed!  
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)"_

Never a hundred percent guarantee like she wanted to hear.

"_KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!"_

She exclaimed that sentence and Percy laughed quietly and hearing the joy in him made her feel joyful too. The picture literally showed the kid moving a mountain, which Percy found amazing. He was filled with glee but he was also getting tired. His eyes were drooping now.

And so Sally flipped to the final page and read:

"_So...  
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray  
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,  
you're off to Great Places!  
Today is your day!  
Your mountain is waiting.  
So...get on your way!"_

"Goodnight, Mommy," Percy sighed sleepily.

"Goodnight, Percy," she said , kissing his forehead and switching off the light, quietly padding out of the room. "I love you." Percy didn't respond, because his breathing had evened out, which meant that he had already fallen asleep.

Call her selfish, but she didn't want Percy to leave. She wanted to stay with him.

But one day in the future, he would be off to Camp Half-Blood to be with others like him, and she wouldn't be able to fight all of his battles. Gabe wouldn't be his problem anymore. There would be deadlier foes and monsters and even the gods of Olympus, but hopefully that day wouldn't come for a while.

And when that day came he'd have to get on his way.


End file.
